Mother’s Day

Tonight I’m sitting on my couch pondering as another Mother’s Day comes to a close. As many of you may know, my husband and I adopted our son from Ethiopia last year and brought him home in April 2015. This day is one of many emotions for me. I’ve always had a mother’s heart. Being the oldest of six, I kind of fell into the mother role as I helped my momma over the years. I learned to change diapers, rock babies to sleep and watch over the littles from a young age. It was just natural for me. When I hit adulthood and found out I may not be able to have biological children, it was quite a blow. I always thought I was destined to be a momma. Ultimately my path led to adoption and to my son. So here we are – second mother’s day as an “official” mom. I am overjoyed to finally by a mother but I mourn the losses that brought my son to me.

In some ways, this day is a reminder of the pain that so many women face today. There are women, like me, who cannot have biological children and mourn that loss. There are women who birthed children but lost them – to death, to drugs, to disease, to so many other things. For whatever reason, those children are no longer in their lives. There are women who bore children but had to give them up for some reason. There are many who have lost their mothers. This day can be a day full of pain for so many. For all of you, I am praying. Praying for God to ease your pain, wipe your tears, and soothe your broken heart.

But this day also motivates me. While I cannot prevent all of the losses I just listed, there are some we can avert. Each trip we take to provide medical care in under-served areas makes a difference – many deaths are related to preventable disease. Each course of antibiotics, each life-saving medication helps one more momma keep her child or one more child keep their momma. Each child our family sponsors is one more child who can stay with their family, who can remain healthy and vibrant. Each time I can send a check from Impact to our Haiti project for salaries, I know we are helping a woman with a job so that she can provide for her family. Yes, the need can be overwhelming. But if we let the need overwhelm us, we are temped to sit and throw up our hands in defeat. We have a choice to make. I choose to make a difference. It may seem small and insignificant. But, if we each choose to make a difference, what seems small and insignificant becomes huge and world-changing as we join together. So on this Mother’s day, what will you choose? Won’t you join me on this journey of making a difference?